Doubt and search

A red pen danced between the graceful, gloved fingers of a stunning bat. The way it moved, the pen almost resembled a snake tamed by its apparent mistress. The bat, sitting cross-legged at the back of the dark meeting room, watched the object with little interest as it danced at her whim. Then she placed it on the table and spun it like a top. The miniature tornado-pen shot out, traversing the entire table in an instant and landing in someone else's hands. The new visitor took the object and inspected it carefully before turning his gaze back to the bat.

"Rouge," Shadow's voice was stern.

"Commander~", the bat replied flirtatiously, with a half-smile and glancing sideways as she slowly turned around in her chair.

"Can you explain what you're doing in the Senate meeting room?"

"It's the only place where you can leave me alone to enjoy my free time."

"As far as I know, we don't have 'free time'."

"You being a workaholic doesn't have to affect me, handsome~"

"But your negligence can affect others," Shadow said, stepping aside and gesturing for someone to move forward. Whisper entered the room, her face hidden behind her tactical mask, though her body language betrayed her distress. "They returned from the search and suppression mission. One squad didn't return, the squad with Cream and Tangle."

"Oh my~. That little rabbit has such a bad luck. How ironic."

"Her Majesty has given orders to keep the incident under wraps. We must verify the status of the lost troops; that's where you come in."

"Unfortunately for me..." Rouge stopped swiveling her chair to face the table and rest her elbows on it. She twitched her right ear in annoyance, where her Meta-Quartz earrings sparkled. "Now then, darling, tell me your troubles."

"...Communications were suddenly cut off..." the she-wolf said, her voice firm, though subdued. "...every attempt to restore them failed, and when we went to the last place they were before losing the signal..." A slight inflection betrayed Whisper confident tone and revealed her concern for a moment. She ran her left hand over the fingers of her right, as if seeking solace in its touch.

Rouge held out her hand, expecting to receive something. Whisper glanced at Shadow, who simply nodded. The wolf approached the bat, removing her right glove and revealing two rings on her ring finger, one of which she handed to Rouge.

"Ohh~", the thief gazed at the jewel with sparkling eyes. "A ruby, small, but very rare. An engagement ring?"

Whisper was having trouble finding the right words; she looked uncomfortable.

"...A promise ring..."

"Oh, of course, adorable. Calm down, queen, I'll find your Treasure in no time."

The earrings in Rouge's ears began to glow with a purple light. Energy flowed from the jewels and settled in her eyes, forming a visor, as she stared intently at the ring.

"Good news: she's still alive."

Whisper couldn't help but let out a small sigh of relief.

"Although... not exactly healthy. Second-degree burns all over her tail. But she's recovering, in a... sort of infirmary. I think she's throwing something. Is she playing darts? At least she's in good spirits. It seems she's with two people, one is hidden... I think I see Cream and-"

"Irrelevant," Shadow interrupted. "Location."

"Okay, okay... North latitude 8 degrees, 6 minutes, 10.27 seconds, West longitude 63 degrees, 32 minutes, 49.04 seconds. 54 meters above sea level. That's..."

"Felidae Territory...", murmured the commander.

"(Of course, you know where it is) Yes, exactly there." Rouge conceded as she handed the ring to Whisper.

"This is officially a Team Dark covert rescue mission. Whisper, Omega, you, and me," the commander said, pointing the pen at Rouge. "I'll speak with Her Majesty immediately. You inform Omega."

"Omega on an cover mission? Seriously?"

"We need to be prepared."

Rouge gave a mocking military salute as Shadow led Whisper toward the exit. When the hedgehog and the bat were alone, Shadow remained silent for a moment, staring at the pen.

"It has a microphone."

"Yep".

"Whose is it?"

"No one's," Rouge smiled. "No matter how much I searched, it didn't show me anyone. It has no owner."

"Then the mole we are looking for knows your meta-skill, and who knows what other skills."

"This kingdom is a zoo, handsome. It could be a mole, or a cat, or a lynx, or an octopus, or... even a rabbit," Rouge said, turning her back on Shadow and swiveling in her chair.

"Or a bat," the commander snorted before turning around and heading to leave the room.

"Or a hedgehog," the thief glanced over her shoulder. "I could see our dear friend, Rose."

Shadow stopped dead in his tracks.

"No, you did not," were the last words he said before smashing the pen with his hand and throwing it in the trash.

A red dart flies over the infirmary room until it hits the cork target hanging on the wall, landing in the 20-point zone.

"Bullseye! I wasn't even aiming there! I think my luck is coming back!" exclaimed the lemur excitedly, sitting on her bed.

The austere place contained only a couple of beds, the other being occupied by the lemur's large tail, with a drawn curtain serving as the only partition in the room. To Tangle's right sat Cream, her back to the half-open exit door.

Cream threw a black dart. Because she threw it half-heartedly, it landed in the 5-point area. The rabbit sighed.

"Ooh, too bad, long-ears. I'm sure you'll have better luck next time..."

"I highly doubt it, Captain."

Suddenly Tangle trembled a little and began rubbing her arms as if she were cold.

"Uff! I felt an awful chill all of the sudden! Didn't you get the feeling that you were being watched?"

Cream didn't respond immediately, but she had sensed something strange. Looking over her shoulder, she could see Amy spying from the gap between the door and its frame. When the hedgehog noticed she was being watched, she hid again. Cream snorted in exasperation.

Before entering the room, Amy explained to Cream that she couldn't be seen by Tangle 'for her own sake'. The fact that a commission had been sent to hunt down Sonic and Amy was a clear sign that there was a price on their heads. And with the threat of infiltrators in the kingdom, even if Tangle welcomed the hedgehogs and offered her help, it was more likely that the kingdom would brand her a traitor; and along with all her close associates: Whisper, Jewel, Lanolin... A disastrous chain reaction.

Cream was annoyed by Amy's pessimistic attitude. It wasn't like her, and she was bothered by the slight shadow of doubt that lingered as a result. She began to think that perhaps Amy wasn't telling her the whole truth…

"You're imagining things," the rabbit replied, shaking her head, though it sounded more like she was talking to herself than the lemur. "Maybe you should get some more rest, Captain."

"Aww, but I feel great!" Tangle didn't notice, but Cream glanced at her tail on the other bed, completely bandaged. "Besides, this place is sooooo boring. They just come, give me my medicine, and leave without saying a word. I mean, I understand that teeeechnically we're prisoners, but a 'Good morning' wouldn't kill them!"

"At least they're taking good care of you..."

"Oh yes, sure. I must be quite the VIP — Very Important Prisoner," Tangle nudged Cream to make her laugh. The rabbit let out a small chuckle, more out of pity than anything else. "Oh right! I still have my duties as Captain to do. Um... R-report on the status of our troops, Cadet. (It's Cadet, right? Did I say that right?)"

"They're fine, Captain. I did a quick check before coming here, they're healthy. Just a little scared."

"Heh, I'm not surprised. Those wolves gave us quite a scare. Besides..." Throughout Cream's visit, Tangle had been actively avoiding looking at her own tail, but at that moment she couldn't help herself. The lemur's cheerful demeanor faded. "I'll be frank with you, Cream, I hurt my tail, like, aaaall the time. And as surprising as it may sounds, this isn't the worst thing that's ever happened to it, just ask Jewel. This doesn't worry me that much. What does bother me... is that it was Blaze who hurt me. I mean, I know it's been a long time since we last saw each other, but... I thought we were friends..."

Cream clenched her fists and jaw tightly. She tried to hold back and calmly search for the right words before exploding.

"You're still friends!" The sudden reaction surprised the lemur and Cream herself a little. "M-Miss Blaze is so sorry for what she did to you, truly! She personally asked that your wounds be treated as best as possible, and that we be treated more like guests than prisoners, and..."

Tangle placed her hand on Cream's, and that's when the rabbit noticed that she was trembling and had watery eyes.

"Thank you," the lemur's sweet smile eased Cream's nerves. "It's good to know she's worried. Thanks for telling me!. You know what? Let's keep this a secret between you and me, okay?... I'm really annoyed by what Shads says about 'these being complicated times.' I don't like 'complicated' things! I've always thought they were stupid. Isn't there really a better way to do things? Does everything have to be as tangled (jeje) as headphone wires in a back pocket...? Although, I guess if Shads says so, it must be true."

"I guess..." Cream glanced at the door behind her, but there was no one there.

"Hey, between you and me, I think you're the one who needs a little break, Long-Ears. Thanks for visiting and playing darts with me. But as your superior, I order you to go to sleep for... I don't know... a whole day! And when you wake up, go eat a big cake! I'm absolutely sure that if you ask Blaze, she'll have it made for you without in no time. (And bring me some while you're at it, okay?)"

"At your order, Captain," Cream stood up, giving a military salute and a slight smile, then turned around and headed for the exit.

"(Now where on earth did I leave that ring? Oh, Whisper is going to kill me if I don't find it!)"

It was impossible for Sonic to keep a low profile, not so much due to any inability to do so, but because of how easily people around him liked him. Wherever he went, the Sungazer lizards, the Sol Koalas, and even the stoic wolves guardian greeted him, chatted with him, and offered him souvenirs or snacks, and it wasn't in the hedgehog's nature to refuse. The truth was, he was happy to see the vibrancy of his surroundings, despite the circumstances. His time roaming the desert made him appreciate the resilience of other people and helped him remember that the most important thing was to stay optimistic in difficult times, something that was becoming harder for him to keep in mind each day.

Something he always kept in his mind, however, was his objective. Amidst laughter and friendly chatter, the speedster drew a little closer to where he thought he might find Tails. A casual question, a fleeting mention, listening intently to the conversations in the background. In this way, he was able to discover that Tails (or "Master Miles," as everyone insisted on calling him) was in his workshop in a secluded spot on the stretch between the Sungazer settlement and the capital.

Everything he heard about him seemed stranger and stranger, as if they were talking about someone completely different. They said he was withdrawn, aloof, brusque, even violent; he rarely spoke and only obeyed Blaze's orders, ignoring everyone else or, in the worst cases, mistreating them. That wasn't Tails. It sounded more like Kit or even Eggman, not his super-genius little brother. But the fact that everyone recognized who Tails was and corrected him, saying he wanted to be called Miles, indicated that, at the very least, they were referring to someone similar. It wouldn't hurt to find out the truth.

An old Sungazer merchant offered Sonic a ride on his way to sell his stuff in the Capital, and Sonic accepted. Halfway there, the speedster said goodbye to the old lizard and, veering off the beaten path, ventured deeper into the jungle. It was sweltering, and the recent rain that Marine and her ships had unleashed had only made the air more humid. Sonic thought how much more pleasant it would be if he could run at full speed through the jungle and let the wind blow the heat away. Running, he thought, then let out a bitter laugh. To arrive breathless and sore at some possible empty clearing, of course.

At a certain point, he began to hear a rustling sound, heavy objects being moved, and voices speaking a language he couldn't yet identify. He felt the atmosphere growing hotter and hotter, similar to when he approached Eggman's gigantic factories. The rustling gradually escalated into an almost unbearable racket. When he parted the last few leaves from his path, he could see it.

The image was aberrant and bizarre: an enormous fox head spitting steel in the middle of a ravaged wasteland, a factory built in the shape of Tails' head, its ears emitting smoke and its eyes spitting fire and sparks, while trucks driven by wolves emerged from its snout, carrying artillery and weapons. The surrounding countryside was littered with felled trees, the vegetation dead. It was as if Sonic had entered an alternate reality where Tails, his little brother, was the evil, megalomaniacal genius instead of Eggman, or as if Eggman himself had somehow influenced the little fox. The mere thought made Sonic's stomach churn and made him lose focus.

Sonic strode across the barren terrain, unconcerned with whether he was seen or not. In the distance, he spotted a strange figure: a purple hood moving on mechanical legs. The hood was the same model as those worn by Mighty, Trip, and the others, so he assumed it was Tails, the missing Apostle, and quickened his pace. Once he was closer, he could make out the figure more clearly; he could see its two yellow tails hanging limply beneath the hood. It was definitely him, and Sonic hurried even faster. The purple figure turned its head slightly, and the hedgehog caught a glimpse of its profile. He stopped abruptly; the sight of the fox's black eyes shocked him. When he regained his composure, he prepared to run toward the fox, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"You shouldn't be here," Chief Seh-Wolf's voice gave the hedgehog a strong sense of déjà vu; it was the same firm but conciliatory tone that Sally and Blaze mastered, and that Amy sometimes used when she wanted to capture the hedgehog's full attention.

Sonic tried to calm down; this wasn't the place to cause a scene. That was what the wolf had really been telling him with the way she spoke. Out of the corner of his eye, Sonic saw Tails disappear into the factory; his chance was gone. He sighed and tried to find his old, more relaxed self.

"Conchale ¿Qué no puede uno turistear relajao por aqui? ¿No puedes perdona' ahí a un pana erizo? (Damn, can't a guy just relax and enjoy some sightseeing around here? Can't you forgive a friend over there?)"

The she-wolf was impressed.

"¿Hablas Lupino? ¿Donde aprendiste tu esa vaina? (Do you speak Lupino? Where did you learn it?)"

"Tu sabe que a mi me encanta viaja' pora'i. Se me pegan los idiomas facilito. Me sorprende que no lo hablen más los tuyo y tú, ehhh... (You know I love to travel. I pick up languages ​​easily. I'm surprised you and your people don't speak it more, huh...)"

"Lupe, Lupe La Loba. Lidereza de la Manada de Lobos (Lupe, Lupe the Wolf. Leader of the Wolf Pack)," Lupe and Sonic shook hands. "Y que te digo... Mandato de la Reina, to'o el mundo debe hablar Común. Hablando claro, me saca la piedra el Común, sin ofender (And what can I say... Order of the Queen, everyone must speak Common. To put it bluntly, Common drives me crazy, no offense)." The leader laughed, and Sonic laughed back.

"Mira, no hay peo ¿Eh?. Que yo también me vuelvo un ocho hablando Común a veces. 'Tonces... (Look, no big deal, oK? I get all flustered talking Common sometimes too. So...)'" Sonic glanced around and let out a long whistle. "Menuda obra tienen aquí mota'a (What a big thing you guys got going on here.)."

"Necesaria pa' que no nos escoñeten piratas, bandidos o los Gringos del norte (Necessary so we don't get screwed over by pirates, bandits, or the gringos from the north)," Lupe glanced briefly around, her tone turning melancholic. "Me entristece burda, porque este lugar era bien bonito... Por eso tu no deberías anda' por aquí 'turisteando'. ¿No tienes una diligencia con Blaze?. (It makes me really sad, because this place used to be so beautiful... That's why you shouldn't be wandering around here 'touristing.' Don't you have a reunion with Blaze)?"

"A la hora de la cena, si. Pero... (At dinnertime, yes. But...)" Sonic glanced at the sky; the sun was beginning to descend over the western horizon. "¡Naguará! ¿Tan tarde es? (Wow! Is it really that late?)"

"Sígueme, te doy la cola allá (Follow me, I'll get you there)," Lupe gestured to the hedgehog to follow her.

Sonic glanced back at the factory for a moment; the doors were locked tight. He saw Lupe and noticed that look, the same look Sally and Blaze used with such grace, and that Amy had almost mastered during her time leading the Restoration, the mark of a true leader. Sonic's friendly demeanor hadn't softened her in the slightest; the hedgehog could sense she was ready to respond with force at any moment if necessary. She simply played along to maintain the peace. Sonic found it amusing that, despite everything, he wasn't bothered that Lupe had seen beyond his facade; he liked her.

The hedgehog gave a half-smile and followed the she-wolf without a word.

Maybe I have a soft spot for bossy girls, thought the hedgehog. Hope my favorite bossy pinky has already forgiven me.